The Principal
Midtown.
The school was intimidating enough, full of prestigious students from all walks of life. Every last one of them being spectacularly bright. Tony wouldn’t be intimidated normally, but he was here for his kid. To be put on the emergency contact list and verify that Peter’s internship information had actually been sent to the school.
Tony took the most average car he could find so he didn’t stand out in the parking lot. He wanted to pick up May and Ben, but they were doing some errands first and he didn’t want to interfere. Even though they eagerly let him in to Peter’s life, that wasn’t a free pass into theirs. His phone buzzed where it sat on the dashboard, and Tony lifted it just enough to see May had texted him.
Pulling in now! Meet us at the entrance.
Tony smiled, getting out of his car and securing his hat over his hair, adjusting his sunglasses. Despite how ridiculous the disguise seemed, it apparently worked wonders when you weren’t expecting to see someone. When he reached the top of the steps entering the school, May and Ben were mere seconds behind.
Ben couldn’t help but laugh at his little ‘disguise.’ He gestured time the glasses, “does that really work?”
“You didn’t know I was Peter’s dad until recently. It works.”
Ben and May just stared at him. Half in shock, half in delight. They were on the verge of crying tears of laughter from those simple words.
“Tony, sometimes you say the damndest things,” Ben joked lights.
He just shrugged, moving to open the door for the couple, who happily filed in the building, Tony quick on their heels. Thankfully, all the students were in class, and wouldn’t notice the three adults moving to the office.
A secretary greeted them, glancing up briefly without saying anything. She merely waited for the Parker‘a to speak first.
“We have a meeting with Principal Morita?” May informed. “We’re May and Ben Parker, Peter’s guardians?”
The secretary briefly glanced to Tony, but didn’t press, since it was obvious he had come in with May and Ben. “I’ll let him know you’re here. Take a seat, and make sure to wear a visitor pass.” She quickly scrawled out names into name tags, passing them to may and Ben.
“Tony.”
“Tony. Alright. Here you go.” She seemed glad she didn’t have to ask as Tony took the name tag. The group filled out a visitor sheet before sitting down. Midtown’s office was pretty bland, with sounds of clocks ticking prickling their ears. They didn’t speak much, just relaxed as they waited, not that they were even waiting long. Principal Morita was quick to poke his head out and summon them in. He noted Tony’s presence, but as said earlier, the hat/sunglasses combo was pretty effective at hiding his identity.
The second the door was closed behind them, Tony took off his disguise and locked the door.
“St-“
“Yes, yes, I’m Tony Stark, may we sit down?”
Morita nodded, gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk. “Im surprised you’re here, I thought this was a meeting about Peter.”
“It is,” Ben assured. There have been some changes recently and we needed to update the school.”
Tony nodded, pulling out some paper from his jacket. “I actually brought a NDA with me. Before we talk further, I’d like to ask you to sign this. Feel free to read through it.” May and Ben weren’t surprised, Tony had mentioned bringing it, especially if they wanted to ensure Peter’s safety.
Principal Morita nodded, taking the document and looking it over carefully. After he looked through, he signed it, handing it back. “I fail to see why we would need one. Has something happened with Peter? Is his internship alright?”
Tony smiled a bit. “He’s doing alright. The other interns absolutely adore him. So no.”
“We’re actually here to discuss a few things. Firstly, on Friday’s, Tony here will be picking up Peter from school. He won’t need to leave early, but we wanted to to be prepared in case any press get a hold of the information,” May informed. “We’d also like to add him to Peter’s emergency contacts. If we can’t be reached, than Tony’s your best bet.”
“That sounds understandable. And the other things?”
“This is more of my own personal concern,” Tony admitted. “While it’s not frequent, Peter shows up for his internship sometimes looking like he got dragged through the mud. Does your school tolerate bullying?”
Ben and May looked up at Tony in shock.
“Eugene Thomson. It took me all of five minutes to find him harassing Peter on social media, and hear Peter himself complain about the harassment. ‘Penis Parker?’ He uses that one a lot. Is there a reason the school hasn’t taken action.”
“What? Peter’s getting bullied?”
Tony quirked a brow. “Yes. He is. And I have a feeling that the reason some of your teachers haven’t reported it is due to the generous donations the Thompson’s have made to the school.”
“As much as I want to say I can handle this, you seem to have a plan,” Morita muttered.
“Not a plan. I want you to hold your teachers accountable. Ask them questions. If you can properly punish Eugene, I’ll donate twice his family’s net worth.”
“I-“
“Tony-“
Tony glanced at the two worried guardians, offering a small smile. “From why I’m aware, the harassment has mostly been verbal, but even words can hurt and leave lasting impacts. Especially on young, developing minds.”
“I completely agree. I’m honestly shocked none of his teachers notified administration. We have a very strict policy. Do you know how long it’s been going on?”
“Longer than he’s been an intern. Unfortunately, that’s all I’m aware of.”
“Looks like I have my work cut out for me this summer. Thank you for informing me. Peter’s one of our best and brightest student. It’s hard to imagine he’d be bullied.”
“I’m just shocked he never told us,” May admitted.
Tony nodded. “I wasn’t even made aware until one of my interns brought it up to me. Peter had mentioned it to them without even realizing it. They thought I could help.” Vanessa had brought it up that week, and Tony poured his resources into finding out everything he could about it. All while trying to make sure Peter’s week was stress free. He was about to start summer break after all.
His interns need a pizza party and a raise.
“Well, if that’s all, I think I need to have a talk with his teachers, Morita informed.
“That’s all. Thank you for listening,” Ben said warmly.
Morita smiled, nodding. “Of course. You three have a wonderful day.”
And they were out of the office in no time flat, just making sure there was enough time for Tony to don his disguise once more.
As they were leaving, Ben stopped Tony. “Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me for anything,” Tony assured.
“You say that, but you don’t seem to realize how much you really do for others,” He informed. “I know life isn’t easy on us, and it hasn’t been easy on you. But how we decide to live when life throws us these punches is a true judge of character. You don’t take your pain out on others, you try to make something beautiful and new. So thank you.”
With those wise words of wisdom, Ben went over to May, who hooker her arm around his as they scampered off to their car.
And there was that tight feeling again. Not dread, but heavy nonetheless. As they danced out of his sight, there was a longing he couldn’t quite explain. Well, that was a lie, he knew that feeling well, but it had been long since he felt it. And it felt wrong to feel it again.
Taking a shaky breath, Tony swallowed back those feelings, moving to his car. He’d gone a long time without caring about his own desires, he could go longer.
However long was needed.